Method for producing solid fuel and solid fuel produced by the method

ABSTRACT

Modified solid fuel manufacturing method and modified solid fuels manufactured using the manufacturing method. When solid fuels are manufactured by crushing low grade coal, mixing the crushed low grade coal with solvent oil to prepare a slurry, heating the slurry to at least the boiling point of water to evaporate moisture included in the slurry, separating the solvent oil from the slurry to produce charcoal dust and compression compacting said charcoal dust, by heating the slurry to at least the boiling point of water, the non-volatile components included in the low grade coal are extracted with the solvent oil, the outer surface of the low grade coal and the internal surfaces of the pores are coated with the extracted non-volatile components, and the content of heavy oil added from the outside will be less than 0.5 mass %, relative to the solid fuel after drying.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for producing an improvedsolid fuel in which coal, in particular, low-rank coal, is used as a rawmaterial; and an improved solid fuel produced by the method.

BACKGROUND ART

Solid fuel is suitably used as fuel for, for example, thermal powergeneration or the like.

At present, bituminous coal is used as fuel for thermal powergeneration. However, the output of bituminous coal has been increasingyear after year and there is a concern about exhaustion of bituminouscoal. Accordingly, effective use of low-rank coal serving as analternative to bituminous coal is an urgent issue.

Low-rank coal has a low calorific value and a spontaneous combustionproperty and hence applications of low-rank coal are limited. As meansfor effectively using low-rank coal, an upgraded brown coal process(hereafter, referred to as UBC process) has been used. To date, severalprocesses for improving low-rank coal have been developed. However, itis difficult to practically use most of these processes because of hightemperature or high pressure processing condition, which results in highapparatus cost, or low-rank coal is chemically changed to produce wastewater containing a large amount of pyrolytic substances, which resultsin high waste-water treatment cost.

The applicant of the present invention disclosed such a UBC process inwhich low-rank coal is used as a raw material and an oil mixturecontaining a heavy oil and a solvent oil is made to be present in poresof the low-rank coal to thereby provide a solid fuel in which thecontent of the heavy oil in weight percentage with respect to the coalhaving been dewatered is 0.5% to 30% (Patent Literature 1). In the solidfuel of Patent Literature 1, water in pores of low-rank coal is removedand a heavy oil is made to adhere to the inner surfaces of the pores tocover active sites. Thus, spontaneous combustion of low-rank coal issuppressed and a heavy oil is contained in low-rank coal to achieve ahigh calorie. By dissolving a heavy oil in a solvent oil to achieve alow viscosity, pores are sufficiently impregnated with the heavy oiland, as a result, active sites in the pores are covered and a highcalorie is achieved.

Improved-coal powder is scarcely used without being processed, as fuel.In general, improved-coal powder is compacted into briquettes and thebriquettes are transported to a consumption site (for example, a thermalpower plant or the like). When such briquettes have a low strength, thebriquettes are cracked or produce powder during transportation or duringloading/unloading operations. Thus, in addition to loss of a portion ofthe product, there is a concern about the increase in the probability ofspontaneous combustion. Accordingly, briquettes are required to have ahigh strength.

In addition, to reduce production cost and to reduce environmental load,the proportion of components added from the outside is desirably made aslow as possible or made zero.

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 2776278 DISCLOSURE OF INVENTIONProblems to be Solved by the Invention

The present invention has been accomplished in view of what is describedabove. An object of the present invention is to provide a method forproducing an improved solid fuel in which production cost is reduced,environmental load is reduced, a high strength is achieved fortransportation or the like, and spontaneous combustion is suppressed;and such an improved solid fuel.

Means for Solving the Problems

The inventors of the present invention have conducted thorough studiesin view of the above-described object. As a result, the inventors havefound that, by immersing low-rank coal in a high-temperature oil, notonly water in the low-rank coal can be evaporated but also a nonvolatilecomponent originally contained in the low-rank coal is extracted withthe high-temperature oil and the component can function as analternative to a heavy oil. Like a heavy oil, the component has afunction of covering active sites in low-rank coal to suppressspontaneous combustion. Thus, the proportion of a heavy oil added fromthe outside can be reduced.

Further study has revealed a finding that, when the heavy oil does notadhere to the surfaces of pulverized low-rank coal, the adhesion betweenfine coal particles prior to briquetting is enhanced and the strength ofbriquetted solid matter can be enhanced.

The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of the finding.An aspect of the present invention is a method for producing a solidfuel, the method including: a step of pulverizing low-rank coal; a stepof preparing a slurry by mixing the pulverized low-rank coal with asolvent oil; a step of evaporating water in the slurry by heating theslurry to a boiling point of water or more; a step of producing finecoal by separating the solvent oil from the slurry; and a step ofbriquetting the fine coal,

wherein, by heating the slurry to the boiling point of water or more, anonvolatile component contained in the low-rank coal is extracted withthe solvent oil and the extracted nonvolatile component covers an outersurface of the low-rank coal and inner surfaces of pores of the low-rankcoal, and

a content of a heavy oil added from outside is made less than 0.5 mass%, preferably substantially 0 mass %, with respect to the solid fuelhaving been dried.

The present invention also provides a solid fuel produced by briquettingpulverized low-rank coal, wherein an outer surface of the low-rank coaland inner surfaces of pores of the low-rank coal are covered with anonvolatile component contained in the low-rank coal, and a content of aheavy oil is less than 0.5 mass %, preferably substantially 0 mass %,with respect to the solid fuel.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, a nonvolatile component originallycontained in low-rank coal is dissolved with high-temperature oil andthe component can function as an alternative to a heavy oil. Thus, theproportion of a heavy oil added from the outside can be reduced;production cost can be reduced; and adverse effects on the environmentcan be suppressed. Furthermore, according to the present invention, asdescribed above, the proportion of a heavy oil added, the heavy oildegrading the adhesion between fine coal particles, can be reduced. As aresult, the strength of briquetted solid matter can be enhanced.

Accordingly, the present invention can provide a method for producing animproved solid fuel in which production cost is reduced, environmentalload is reduced, and the strength of the solid fuel is enhanced fortransportation or the like; and an improved solid fuel produced by themethod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a process flow of a method for producing an improvedsolid fuel according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an apparatusfor producing an improved solid fuel in which a method for producing animproved solid fuel according to the present invention is carried out.

FIG. 3 is a graph about a coal nonvolatile component dissolved inkerosene.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process flow in a steady state.

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the relationship between the massfraction (percentage with respect to dewatered coal) [mass %] of a heavyoil (specifically, asphalt) and briquette strength [kg-wt].

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1 mixing tank    -   2 pump    -   3 preheater    -   4 preheater    -   5 gas-liquid separator    -   6 pump    -   7 evaporator    -   8 compressor    -   9 oil-water separator    -   10 centrifugal separator    -   11 screw press    -   12 dryer    -   13 condenser    -   14 pump    -   15 cooler    -   16 heater

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a method for producing an improved solid fuel according tothe present invention and an improved solid fuel produced by theproduction method will be described in detail with reference to thedrawings. However, embodiments described below are examples of thepresent invention and are not viewed as limiting the present invention.Note that common parts or components in the drawings are designated withlike reference signs and redundant descriptions are omitted.

First Embodiment

A method for producing an improved solid fuel according to the presentinvention includes pulverizing low-rank coal; preparing a slurry bymixing the pulverized low-rank coal with a solvent oil; evaporatingwater in the slurry by heating the slurry to a boiling point of water ormore; producing fine coal by separating the solvent oil from the slurry;and briquetting the fine coal, wherein, by heating the slurry to theboiling point of water or more, a nonvolatile component contained in thelow-rank coal is extracted with the solvent oil and the extractednonvolatile component covers an outer surface of the low-rank coal andinner surfaces of pores of the low-rank coal, and a content of a heavyoil added from outside is made less than 0.5 mass %, preferablysubstantially 0 mass %, with respect to the solid fuel having been dried(that is, in percentage with respect to the coal having been dewatered).

In a method for producing a solid fuel according to the presentinvention, an oil mixed with pulverized low-rank coal serves as asolvent oil; a nonvolatile component originally contained in thelow-rank coal is extracted with the oil at a high temperature; and thenonvolatile component functions as an alternative to a heavy oil.Accordingly, the proportion of a heavy oil added from the outside can bereduced. In addition, although the amount of the heavy oil added isreduced, the nonvolatile component contained in the low-rank coal isused as the alternative and the nonvolatile component covers activesites in pores of the low-rank coal. Thus, spontaneous combustion can besuppressed as in the cases where the heavy oil is added. Furthermore, bya method for producing a solid fuel according to the present invention,the proportion of such a heavy oil added can be reduced, the heavy oilreducing the adhesion between fine coal particles. Thus, the strength ofbriquetted solid matter can be enhanced.

FIG. 1 illustrates a process flow of a method for producing an improvedsolid fuel according to the present invention. A method for producing animproved solid fuel according to the present invention will be describedin detail with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagramillustrating an example of an apparatus for producing an improved solidfuel in which a method for producing an improved solid fuel according tothe present invention is carried out. A method for producing an improvedsolid fuel according to the present invention includes a low-rank coalpulverization and slurry preparation step; a dewatering step; asolid-liquid separation step; and a briquetting step. In addition, themethod may further include a cooling step for cooling dried solidcontent between the solid-liquid separation step and the briquettingstep.

The step of preparing a slurry of pulverized low-rank coal correspondsto a mixing section in the process flow in FIG. 1 and is conducted in amixing tank 1 in the apparatus for producing an improved solid fuel inFIG. 2. The dewatering step corresponds to a dewatering section in theprocess flow in FIG. 1 and is conducted in an evaporator 7 and agas-liquid separator 5 in the production apparatus in FIG. 2. Thesolid-liquid separation step corresponds to solid-liquid separationsections (mechanical separation and thermal separation) in the processflow in FIG. 1 and is conducted in a mechanical solid-liquid separator(centrifugal separator) 10, a screw press 11, and a dryer 12 in theproduction apparatus in FIG. 2. The briquetting step corresponds to abriquetting section in the process flow in FIG. 1 and is conducted in abriquetting device (not shown) in the production apparatus. Theapparatus for producing an improved solid fuel in which a method forproducing an improved solid fuel according to the present invention iscarried out includes the mixing tank 1 in which an oil mixturecontaining a solvent oil is mixed with low-rank coal to prepare a rawmaterial slurry; the evaporator 7 and the gas-liquid separator 5 inwhich the raw material slurry is subjected to a water evaporationtreatment; the mechanical solid-liquid separator (centrifugal separator)10, the screw press 11, and the dryer 12 in which the slurry having beensubjected to the water evaporation treatment is subjected tosolid-liquid separation; and the briquetting device (not shown) in whichthe dried solid fuel in the form of a powder is briquetted to produce abriquetted solid fuel.

Hereinafter, the steps will be described in detail.

1. Low-Rank Coal Pulverization and Slurry Preparation Step

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, low-rank coal serving as a raw materialis pulverized and then supplied to the mixing section, that is, themixing tank 1. The pulverized low-rank coal is mixed with an oilcontaining a solvent oil in the mixing tank 1 to prepare a raw materialslurry. Various oils may be used as the solvent oil mixed with low-rankcoal as long as a nonvolatile component contained in low-rank coal canbe extracted with the oils. The solvent oil is preferably a lightboiling oil in view of compatibility with a nonvolatile component and aheavy oil, ease of handling of a slurry, ease of entry into pores, andthe like. In view of stability at a water evaporation temperature, thesolvent oil is suitably a petroleum oil having a boiling point of 100°C. or more and preferably 400° C. or less. Examples of such a petroleumoil include kerosene, light oil, and heavy oil. Alternatively, coalliquid may be used. Preferably, kerosene can be used.

Although the solvent oil may contain a heavy oil, it is important thatthe amount of a heavy oil added by addition of an oil into the mixingtank 1 is adjusted such that the adhesion amount of the heavy oil in asolid fuel (that is obtained by subjecting a cake provided bysolid-liquid separation to an oil evaporation treatment with a dryer) isless than 0.5 mass %, preferably substantially 0 mass %, with respect tolow-rank coal (improved coal) having been dried in the solid fuel, thatis, in percentage with respect to the coal having been dewatered.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an oil and the like ejected from thedewatering section, the solid-liquid separation section (mechanicalseparation), and the solid-liquid separation section (thermalseparation) may be circulated as a circulation oil to the mixingsection. A solvent oil and a heavy oil may be added to the circulationoil. In this case, as in the above-described case, it is also importantthat the amount of a heavy oil added is adjusted such that the adhesionamount of the heavy oil in a solid fuel (that is obtained by subjectinga cake provided by solid-liquid separation to an oil evaporationtreatment with a dryer) is less than 0.5 mass %, preferablysubstantially 0 mass %, with respect to low-rank coal (improved coal)having been dried in the solid fuel, that is, in percentage with respectto the coal having been dewatered.

In the present invention, the term “low-rank coal” denotes a coal thatcontains a large amount of water and is desirably dewatered, forexample, a coal that has a water content of at least 20 mass % withrespect to the coal having been dried. Naturally, such low-rank coal maycontain high-rank coal or the like. Examples of such low-rank coalinclude brown coal, lignite, and subbituminous coal. Examples of browncoal include Victoria coal, North Dakota coal, and Beluga coal. Examplesof subbituminous coal include West Banko coal, Binungan coal, andSamarangau coal. Low-rank coal is not restricted to the above-describedexamples and low-rank coal according to the present inventionencompasses any coal that has a large water content and is desirablydewatered.

In the present invention, the term “nonvolatile component” denotes anonvolatile oil that is originally contained in low-rank coal and, afterbeing extracted, covers the outer surface of the low-rank coal and theinner surfaces of pores of the low-rank coal. Thus, the nonvolatilecomponent covers active sites in pores of low-rank coal and hencesuppresses spontaneous combustion. An example of such a nonvolatilecomponent is an aromatic organic polymer compound.

In the present invention, the term “heavy oil” denotes a heavy fractionthat substantially does not exhibit vapor pressure at, for example, 400°C., such as vacuum residual oil or an oil containing such a heavyfraction. As with the nonvolatile component, the heavy oil has afunction of covering active sites in pores of low-rank coal and hencesuppresses spontaneous combustion. Examples of such a heavy oil includepetroleum asphalt, native asphalt, aliphatic organic polymer compounds,and aromatic organic polymer compounds.

In the present invention, the term “solvent oil” denotes an oil that candissolve a heavy oil to reduce the viscosity of the heavy oil to therebyfacilitate entry of the heavy oil into pores of low-rank coal, and thatcan extract a nonvolatile component contained in low-rank coal. Such asolvent oil can also dissolve a nonvolatile component to reduce theviscosity of the nonvolatile component to thereby facilitate entry ofthe nonvolatile component into pores of low-rank coal.

However, when a solid fuel in the form of a powder is briquetted, such aheavy oil reduces the mechanical strength of the briquetted solid fuel.Accordingly, the amount of the heavy oil is preferably as small aspossible. As described above, the amount of a heavy oil added ispreferably adjusted such that the adhesion amount of the heavy oil in asolid fuel (that is obtained by subjecting a cake provided bysolid-liquid separation to an oil evaporation treatment with a dryer) isless than 0.5 mass %, preferably substantially 0 mass %, with respect tolow-rank coal (improved coal) having been dried in the solid fuel (inpercentage with respect to the coal having been dewatered). FIG. 5illustrates the relationship between the mass fraction (percentage withrespect to dewatered coal) [mass %] of a heavy oil (specifically,asphalt) and briquette strength [kg-wt]. The abscissa axis indicates themass fraction (percentage with respect to dewatered coal) [mass %] of aheavy oil (specifically, asphalt). The ordinate axis indicates briquettestrength [kg-wt]. As illustrated in FIG. 5, by making the adhesionamount of a heavy oil in a solid fuel be 0 to 0.5 mass %, the strengthof a briquetted solid fuel can be made about 68 kg-wt to about 87 kg-wt.In particular, when the adhesion amount is 0 mass %, the briquettedsolid fuel has the highest strength of about 87 kg-wt, which ispreferred. When a briquetted solid fuel produces powder, the probabilityof the contact between active sites of the solid fuel and the airincreases and there is a concern about the increase in the probabilityof spontaneous combustion. However, as described above, when thestrength of a briquetted solid fuel is increased by making the adhesionamount of a heavy oil be 0 to 0.5 mass %, spontaneous combustion can besuppressed.

The type of a mixing tank according to the present invention is notparticularly restricted and various mixing tanks may be used. However,in general, an axial mixer or the like is preferably used.

In the low-rank coal pulverization and slurry preparation step, a rawmaterial slurry can be prepared by mixing pulverized low-rank coal withan oil containing a solvent oil.

2. Dewatering Step

The thus-prepared raw material slurry is transported to preheaters 3 and4 by a pump 2 and preheated with the preheaters 3 and 4. After that, theraw material slurry is heated with the evaporator 7. In the evaporator7, dewatering in oil is conducted under the application of a pressure of1 to 40 atmospheres (preferably, 2 to 5 atmospheres) and under heatingto a temperature of 100° C. to 250° C. (preferably, 120° C. to 160° C.).In the evaporator 7, the raw material slurry is heated to the boilingpoint of water or more as described above and, as a result, moisture isremoved and a nonvolatile component contained in low-rank coal isextracted with a solvent oil contained in the raw material slurry. Thus,a nonvolatile component contained in low-rank coal is extracted and thenonvolatile component functions as an alternative to a heavy oil.Accordingly, as described above, the amount of a heavy oil added can bereduced.

Thus, the raw material slurry is transported to the gas-liquid separator5 and water in the raw material slurry is removed in the form ofmoisture in the gas-liquid separator 5. After the separation ofmoisture, the slurry is drawn through the bottom and transported towardthe centrifugal separator 10 by a pump 6. A portion is branched at anintermediate position of a transportation line, heated by being passedthrough the evaporator 7, and then transported back to the gas-liquidseparator 5. The pressure of a vapor-phase fraction obtained bysubjecting moisture generated in the evaporator 7 to gas-liquidseparation is increased by being passed through a compressor 8 and theresultant thermal energy is used to heat the slurry in the evaporator 7to thereby dewater the slurry in oil. The vapor-phase fraction issubsequently transported to the preheater 3, used as a preheating sourcefor the raw material slurry, and then subjected to oil-water separationin an oil-water separator 9. The resultant water is discarded. The oilcollected in the oil-water separation is returned to the mixing tank 1and reused.

In the dewatering step, since a dewatering treatment is conducted, theraw material slurry is required to be heated to the boiling point ofwater or more. In addition, since it is necessary to extract and extracta nonvolatile component with a solvent oil contained in the raw materialslurry, the raw material slurry is preferably heated to 100° C. or more.To evaporate water at normal pressure, heating at least to 100° C. isrequired. However, to reduce the size of an apparatus, operation may beperformed at a pressure higher than normal pressure. As a result,vapor-phase volume is reduced. To make the size of a compressor bereasonable, process may be performed at a pressure higher than normalpressure. When the pressure is increased, since the boiling point ofwater increases, the heating temperature needs to be made 100° C. ormore. For example, when operation is performed under pressurization at0.4 MPa, heating to 145° C. or more is required to evaporate water.However, when the temperature is increased to an unnecessarily highvalue, not only water but also a solvent oil evaporates. In the process,evaporation of a solvent oil needs to be reduced as much as possible.Accordingly, it is reasonable to perform operation at a temperatureabout several degrees centigrade higher than the boiling point of waterat an operation pressure. Note that, in view of extracting a nonvolatilecomponent of coal, a higher temperature is preferred.

The type of the evaporator 7 according to the present invention is notparticularly restricted and various evaporators may be used: forexample, a heating evaporator, a decompression evaporator, aheating-decompression evaporator, and the like. For example, a flashvaporization evaporator, a coil evaporator, a forced-circulationvertical-tube evaporator, or the like may be used. In general, forexample, a forced-circulation evaporator equipped with a heat exchangeris preferably used.

As described above, in the dewatering step, water contained in low-rankcoal is evaporated to thereby remove moisture and a nonvolatilecomponent contained in the low-rank coal is extracted with a solvent oilcontained in a raw material slurry.

3. Solid-Liquid Separation Step

As described above, after the water evaporation treatment is performed,the slurry having been subjected to the water evaporation treatment istransported to the solid-liquid separation section (mechanicalseparation) and subjected to solid-liquid separation with a mechanicalsolid-liquid separator. The type of such a mechanical solid-liquidseparator is not particularly restricted and various separators may beused: for example, a centrifugal separator, a compressor, a settlingtank, a filter, and the like. In the present embodiment, concentrationwith the centrifugal separator 10 is firstly performed and thencompression with the screw press 11 is performed. However, only acentrifugal separator or a screw press may be used. Instead of acentrifugal separator, sedimentation may be employed. Instead ofcompression, vacuum filtration may be employed. An oil obtained by thesolid-liquid separation may be returned as a circulation oil to themixing tank 1.

The thus-separated solid matter (cake) is transported to thesolid-liquid separation section (thermal separation) and heated in thedryer 12 under a carrier-gas flow to thereby evaporate the oil. As aresult, a solid fuel is obtained.

In the thermal separation step, the surface of coal and pores of thecoal are covered with a nonvolatile component. Specifically, while asolvent oil is evaporated, a nonvolatile component (heavy oil) containedin the coal is not evaporated and hence remains on the surface of thecoal and in pores of the coal.

The drying is preferably performed by a fluid-bed process or a rotarydryer process. The oil that is transported and separated with a carriergas may be fed to a condenser 13, collected as an oil, and then returnedas a lubricating oil to the mixing tank 1.

As described above, in the solid-liquid separation step, a slurry issubjected to solid-liquid separation with a mechanical solid-liquidseparator and an oil contained in the solid matter is evaporated with adryer. As a result, a solid fuel in the form of a powder can beobtained.

4. Briquetting Step

The thus-obtained solid fuel in the form of a powder is transported fromthe dryer to the briquetting section and briquetted with a briquettingdevice (not shown) into a briquetted solid fuel. Examples of such abriquetting device include a tableting device (tableting) and adouble-roll briquetting device (roll press). In general, a double-rollbriquetting device is preferably used. In the briquetting step, abriquetted solid fuel can be produced.

According to the above-described method, although the amount of a heavyoil added is reduced, spontaneous combustion can be suppressed as in thecases where a heavy oil is added and the strength of briquetted solidmatter can be enhanced.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Regarding Properties of Nonvolatile ComponentContained in Low-Rank Coal

It has been reported that, when coal is dewatered in oil, by making anonvolatile heavy oil such as asphalt be present with the coal, asphalteffectively adheres to pores of the coal and spontaneous combustion issuppressed (Japanese Patent No. 2776278).

The inventors of the present invention have considered that, since anonvolatile component that is a portion of coal is dissolved in ahigh-temperature oil and extracted, the dissolved nonvolatile componentfunctions as an alternative to asphalt.

Then, the solubility of a coal (Indonesian brown coal) in ahigh-temperature solvent oil (kerosene) was measured. The followingprocedures were employed.

1) Pulverized coal (the amount of particles having a diameter of 1 mm ormore is 10 mass % or less) was mixed with kerosene in a round bottomflask at room temperature.

2) The round bottom flask was placed in a heater and the sample wasgradually heated to 140° C. over 2 hours. At this time, to make theatmosphere in the flask be inert, nitrogen gas was supplied at 200cm³/min. In addition, at this time, water evaporated from the coal wasdrawn in the form of moisture from the top of the round bottom flask,condensed with a cooling tube, and drawn in the form of liquid (water)outside the system. The sample in the round bottom flask was held at140° C. for an hour.

3) Subsequently, the sample in the round bottom flask was filtered underthe application of a pressure (pressurized with a nitrogen gas at 0.1MPa) in the high-temperature state to separate the sample into the solidphase and the liquid phase.

4) The separated liquid phase was temporarily cooled, then poured into aflask of distillation equipment, subjected to distillation under reducedpressure under conditions described below to evaporate and draw keroseneoutside the system. An evaporation residue, that is, a coal nonvolatilecomponent having been dissolved in kerosene was collected.

Pressure: 10 mmHg

Heating rate: 2° C./min

Final temperature: 159° C. (after the final temperature is reached, thetemperature is maintained until generation of moisture stops: 60minutes)

FIG. 3 illustrates measurement results: s/c represents the ratio of theweight of kerosene charged to the weight of coal (having been dried);and coal weight reduction percentage represents the weight fraction of acomponent dissolved in kerosene with respect to the dry weight of thecoal charged. As illustrated in FIG. 3, it has been found that at least1% of a raw material coal dissolves in kerosene at 140° C.

For another coal, it has also been found that at least 1% of a rawmaterial coal dissolves in kerosene at 140° C.

The coal component dissolving in kerosene was a nonvolatile heavy oiland had properties very similar to those of heavy oils such as asphaltthat are added from the outside in existing techniques. Accordingly, ithas been found that a low-rank coal improvement process can be achievedwithout adding a heavy oil from the outside.

Example 2 Regarding Process Flow

Next, FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a process flow in a steady statetogether with a material balance. The numeral values in FIG. 4 representmass flow rate. DC represents dewatered coal; SC represents anonvolatile component contained in coal; W represents water; and Orepresents kerosene. About 1% of a raw material coal can dissolve inkerosene and the concentration increases over time in circulatingkerosene. In the dewatering section, 1% of coal dissolves inhigh-temperature kerosene. In the solid-liquid separation section(mechanical separation), a portion of kerosene remains on the surfaceand in pores of coal. The kerosene contains about 3% of a coal componentthat can dissolve in kerosene, that is, a nonvolatile componentcontained in coal. Thus, in the subsequent solid-liquid separationsection (thermal separation), while kerosene is evaporated andseparated, the coal nonvolatile component that can dissolve in keroseneremains on the surface and in pores of coal.

A heavy component (asphalt) is added in existing techniques for thepurpose of suppressing spontaneous combustion of product coal.Accordingly, for example, the proportion of a mass component remainingin a product is made 1 mass %. Then, to provide another product havingan equal quality, 1 mass % of a coal nonvolatile component that candissolve in kerosene is made to remain in the product. To achieve this,the mechanical solid-liquid separation step (centrifugal separation) inFIG. 4 is performed such that, in the solid phase, the weight ratio ofdewatered coal (DC) to a nonvolatile component (SC) that can dissolve inkerosene is 99:1. At this time, the mass ratio of the nonvolatilecomponent to kerosene in the slurry supplied to the mechanicalsolid-liquid separation step (centrifugal separation) is 4.5:157, thatis, about 3:100. Accordingly, when the ratio of dewatered coal tokerosene in the solid phase is made about 99:33 (99:34.5 in FIG. 4), theweight ratio of dewatered coal, kerosene, and the coal nonvolatilecomponent is 99:33:1. For the solid phase containing kerosene, whilemost of the kerosene is evaporated and separated in the subsequentheating step (drying step), the nonvolatile component that can dissolvein kerosene is heavy and hence is not separated and remains on thesurface of the coal. In a continuous centrifugal separator, parametersthat mainly determine the capability of separating a solid phase and aliquid phase from each other are the number of revolutions and averageresidence time. The larger the number of revolutions and the longer theaverage residence time, the less the amount of a liquid phase remainingin a solid phase becomes. Continuous centrifugal separators are ofvarious sizes and types and the number of revolutions and averageresidence time for achieving a desired solid-liquid separationcapability vary and cannot be generally determined. However, in thepresent invention, by performing solid-liquid separation as describedabove, about 1 mass % of a nonvolatile component can be made to remainin dewatered coal and addition of a heavy oil can be preferablyeliminated.

Example 3 Regarding Strength of Briquetted Solid Fuel

In an existing technique (Japanese Patent No. 2776278), at least 0.5mass % of a heavy oil is added in a mass percentage with respect todewatered coal.

Asphalt was selected as a heavy oil and a low-rank coal (Indonesianbrown coal) was improved while an asphalt mass fraction (percentage withrespect to dewatered coal) was varied. After that, solid fuels in theform of a briquette were produced with a double-roll briquetting device(K-205, manufactured by Furukawa Otsuka Co., Ltd.). The number ofrevolutions of the double-roll briquetting device was made 8 rpm. Thestrength was measured with a crush strength meter (XA-500, manufacturedby Furukawa Otsuka Co., Ltd.).

The results are illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a graph illustratingthe relationship between the mass fraction (percentage with respect todewatered coal) [mass %] of a heavy oil (specifically, asphalt) andbriquette strength [kg-wt]. The abscissa axis indicates the massfraction (percentage with respect to dewatered coal) [mass %] of a heavyoil (specifically, asphalt). The ordinate axis indicates briquettestrength [kg-wt]. As illustrated in FIG. 5, by making the adhesionamount of a heavy oil in a solid fuel be 0 to 0.5 mass %, the strengthof a briquetted solid fuel can be made about 68 kg-wt to about 87 kg-wt.In particular, when the adhesion amount is 0 mass %, a briquetted solidfuel has the highest strength of about 87 kg-wt. When a briquetted solidfuel produces powder, the probability of the contact between activesites of the solid fuel and the air increases and there is a concernabout the increase in the probability of spontaneous combustion.However, as described above, when the strength of a briquetted solidfuel is increased by making the adhesion amount of a heavy oil be 0 to0.5 mass %, spontaneous combustion can be suppressed. From FIG. 5, ithas been found that, the lower the asphalt mass fraction, the higher thebriquette strength is; and, in particular, the highest strength isachieved at 0 mass % in which no asphalt is added. To increase thebriquette strength, the adhesion between fine coal particles to bebriquetted is preferably high. However, asphalt adheres to the surfaceof the coal and, as a result, the adhesion is probably degraded.Although the detailed mechanism is not clear, it can be considered thatasphalt is petroleum-based (aliphatic series) and hence has lowcompatibility (adhesion) with coal (aromatic series).

1. A method for producing a solid fuel, the method comprising:pulverizing low-rank coal; preparing a slurry by mixing the pulverizedlow-rank coal with a solvent oil; evaporating water in the slurry byheating the slurry to a boiling point of water or more; producing finecoal by separating the solvent oil from the slurry, while a non-volatilecomponent contained in the low-rank coal is not evaporated by performingsolid-liquid separating against the slurry; and briquetting the finecoal, wherein, by heating the slurry to the boiling point of water ormore, a nonvolatile component contained in the low-rank coal isextracted with the solvent oil and the extracted nonvolatile componentcovers an outer surface of the low-rank coal and inner surfaces of poresof the low-rank coal, and a content of a heavy oil added from outside ismade 0 mass % with respect to the solid fuel having been dried; and insaid solid-liquid separating the weight ratio of dewatered coal,kerosene, and the coal nonvolatile component in the solid phase is99:33:1.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the heavy oil is notsubstantially added. 3.-4. (canceled)
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid solvent oil is a light boiling oil.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein said solvent oil is a petroleum oil having a boiling point of atleast 100° C.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said solvent oil is apetroleum oil having a boiling point of no more than 400° C.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said solvent oil is kerosene.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein said low-rank coal is coal having a water content ofat least 20 mass % with respect to the coal having been dried.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said low-rank coal is selected from the groupconsisting of brown coal, lignite, and subbituminous coal.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said low-rank coal is brown coal selectedfrom the group consisting of Victoria coal, North Dakota coal, andBeluga coal.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said low-rank coal issubbituminous coal selected from the group consisting of West Bankocoal, Binungan coal, and Samarangau coal.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein said evaporating is conducted under the application of apressure of 1 to 40 atmospheres and under heating to a temperature of100° C. to 250° C.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said pressure isfrom 2 to 5 atmospheres.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein saidtemperature is from 120° C. to 160° C.
 16. The method of claim 1,wherein said separating is mechanical solid-liquid separation with amechanical solid-liquid separator.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinsaid mechanical solid-liquid separator is selected from the groupconsisting of a centrifugal separator, a compressor, a settling tank,and a filter.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein said briquetting iswith a briquetting device.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein saidbriquetting device is a tableting device or a double-roll briquettingdevice.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein a content of the non-volatilecomponent is made in about 1 mass % with respect to the solid fuelhaving been dried.